Dealing with a Melted Rice Cooker: What to Do as a Consultant

[Lisa/ChefBear]

I've got a repeat customer who at a show at end of March ordered the Rice Cooker and in mid April finally used it for first time, well it MELTED in her microwave, almost cost on fire and microwave still smells of melted plastic when you use it. She put it in for 15 minutes with half a batch of rice and water and it wasn't even to 7 minutes and she said she could smell this AWFUL smell and discovered it a mess She had to take Glass turn table out of microwave and take it outside and scrap the rice cooker off of the glass and then she had to really scrub the glass. Well she never called me, I heard about the problem from a guest at a show on Sunday, so I called her and she was so embarassed, she didn't think anything could be done as her hubby threw the "molten goo away" (Her words not min) Well I said I thought they would replace it. So I did product adjustment and got the DING BAT FROM H@@@ who didn't even know that the Rice Cooker was to be used in the Microwave..........."where in catalog does it say to use it in Microwave?" was the ?? I got from the HO rep who answered the phone. DUH, it's plastic, like you'd use it on the stove top or in the conventional oven!!

Anyway, I finally I think got her to understand and then I said I had done adjustment on line but it asked for item to be returned and I told her the ladies husband had thrown it away. Well she said she asked her supervisor and they said without the item to be returned they WOULD NOT replace it.

I think this is dumb, I know this lady is not lying, she wasn't even going to tell me it happened, as she figured somehow she'd done something wrong.

She's a great customer and hopefully someday a hostess, what would you do.

Should I try calling HO again and hopefully get someone different, ask to speak with a supervisor, or just add it to a show and give it to her??

What do you think, HELP!!

Frustrated,
Lisa

 

[Chef Kearns]

Lisa--I would purchase one for her on my next party. It stinks, but it would be worth it to keep a customer.

 

[Jennie4PC]

I would wait to see what they respond to you in the product adjustment and if it is not a good ansew then I would posssibly try calling again, I know sometimes they dont have you return things if something got broken in shipment.

 

[PamperedPrincess74]

I have done many product adjustments for broken items and they've never had me send the other one back. But, if you read my post on BUSINESS TIPS from today, you'll see that I've had to do many product adjustments lately for missing items and today the lady at HO gave me such a HARD TIME and acted as though I was lying about the missing item. They are getting TERRIBLE over there!

 

[maryhenderlite]

I would do the product adjustment online and then see what happens. If nothing, call and see what the next person says.. I have had my share if ding-bats letely at HO. ok If all else, I'd buy it for her since she is such a good customer.

 

[cmdtrgd]

Don't forget that you can get a Rice Cooker on the paperwork supply order form for a discount. That might help offset the replacement cost!

 

[Lisa/ChefBear]

I called back and asked to speak with a supervisorHi all,
Just wanted to let you know, I calmed down a little and then called back and asked to speak with a supervisor and they still made me go through whole thing again, but at least this time I got a person who knew a supervisor could over ride this being "necessary" to send item back.

I had to talk supervisor and go through whole story again, I was trying to be polite and nice, she kinda hemmed and hawed at first, and I said I think it's terrible that PC would rather have custome buy a new product than replace it. And I said this lady is a good PC Customer and look her up, I know she's hosted shows in the past with another consultant and I'd hate to see something as little as a Rice Cooker ruin her from buying PC again and she knows ALLOT of people and runs her own business. Well Supervisor then said she'd take care of it.

So I had to get a little pushy, but they did honor the guarantee!!

Smiling again
Lisa

 

[Jennie4PC]

I am glad to hear that they took care of the problem for you

 

[Kelley Sells]

Did they ever explainWhy this would've happened? I have sold 3-4 of those in the past 2 shows with the "you can bake a cake in the microwave with this".....so I'm hopeing that this is not a quality issue. I would HATE to see if anything happened and because of what they tell us it can do, really can't be done and if this is happening quite often, I would THINK they would pull the item.

 

[chefjeanine]

Why did the cooker melt?

Why this would've happened? I have sold 3-4 of those in the past 2 shows with the "you can bake a cake in the microwave with this".....so I'm hopeing that this is not a quality issue. I would HATE to see if anything happened and because of what they tell us it can do, really can't be done and if this is happening quite often, I would THINK they would pull the item.

That was my question. Yikes! We don't want to start burning houses down.

 

[Cindycooks]

This bothers me because I just did a product replacement too for the same reason - the Rice Cooker melted in the microwave and the customer threw it away - so I have nothing to send back. I am waiting for a call from the HO. I sure hope this isnt a quality issue and I am very tempted to let my cluster know, cuz I know a couple girls have been pushing the Rice Cooker cake.

It's not an item I push too much at shows, but I must say I love my Rice Cooker at home and have never had a problem with it.

I once had a customer whose daughter put the old style QSPitcher lid in her dishwasher and it melted. I also had nothing to send back and the HO was very understanding and replaced it without question. I really think it is all in who you talk to.

 

[pletcherdee]

Also frustrated with HOI'm a "newbie" still--but am already leary of dealing with the HO. I submitted my first cooking show order and then had to leave town to go visit my mother in Michigan.

My husband told me that I had received a couple calls from someone-he couldn't decipher the name or the message or the call back number. He THOUGHT they said "home office" and "pampered chef". The person had difficulty with English. Anyway, when I finally settled in at my Mother's I decided to just call the HO without any information other than that they called--this being a couple days after I had placed my order.

Now I had acted as Hostess at my party. The message from HO was to tell me that I would not get commission on my "host" order and that I would not get credit for the booking that I got. In the meantime, they had put my order on hold--an order that I had a number of people waiting for--whom I had assured would receive their products in a very timely manner.

No attempt was made to e-mail me--as I was always in e-mail contact.

First of all--why on EARTH would they put the whole order on hold for that?
Secondly-what do they mean I wouldn't get credit for my booking???? (I know I'm new, but I still have no idea what they mean by that!) lastly-the person I talked to had the WORST telephone skills ever! What if I had been a customer???

I had to get a bit cranky with them by informing them that I had customers who were waiting for their products, and that I didn't think this was a valid reason to hold up EVERYONE's order. My customer's are more important!!

I wonder if I am over reacting--or not understanding something???

Anyway, I know that one customer didn't have their product in time to give it as a Birthday gift, as was the case with my order too.

 

[sailortena]

I once had a CS rep practically accuse me of lying because she claimed up and down those cutting boards in March were never on back order! I was like ... um, it's in consultant news and on the Web site!

I am really hoping they didn't outsource their customer service department or whatever. If HO customer service is bad, how does that reflect on us?

 

[Cindycooks]

It seems like everytime I call them i get that same lady who barely speaks English - I don't mean to sound like a bad person - but it is just very frustrating and why have someone like that in customer service that has to deal with people on the phone all day long. There was one time I almost ask her to let me speak with somebody else. It is especially frustrating after being on hold for a long time!

 

[thepamperedmom]

Ladies- I know broken English can sometimes be difficult, and there are many new staff members in the sollutions center right now who are currently being trained. HOWEVER, They are adding so many new CS reps, because we want the sollutions center to be available for more hours for us. Chicago is a melting pot there are hispanics, salvadorans, Indians, Asian. They are thankfully seeking out gainful employeement, and I appreciate their help. After 6 years of working with HO I have found that I never have a problem if I am patient and detailed in my explanations. regarding the Consultant acting as a host, this informations is outlined in your Welcome booklet and the Recipe for Success. These orders are sometimes put on hold, because they are entered with your information in the host slot, but many new consultants fail to check the "Consultant acting as host box" on the PP screen. They are courteous to call you and let you know of it, because it will effect a difference in your Monthly Sales Report vs. the actual monthly commission paid. They called rather than emailed, probably because it is end of the month, and they want to make sure you as a new person understand the situation. Trust me they had no way of knowing you were available via emailo but not phone, nor did your hubby share that info with them. We have a great HO staff y'all, and we may from time to time experience growing pains, but we are growning...YIPPEEE!!!!!! I love this rapid growth! Go with the flow ladies...this is so much fun. And Yes there is always a positive sollution for the customer, just keep asking NICELY til you are satisfied. (Which I may add, may sometimes include you biting the bullwett and doing the replacement yourself.) Lesson learned- to prepare customers for good customer care and customer service, announce our company return policies at every show! It makes a huge difference to them and you! Since I began doing this, I rarely get Customer Service calls, my customers call HO directly and take care of things quickly by elliminating me the middle man, and thats A OK with me! Enjoy the efforts we do receive from HO!

 

[pletcherdee]

It would seem that the concerns that I expressed earlier have been interpreted as being "intollerant". This is unfortunate, as this couldn't be further from the truth. Having been born and raised in the Ann Arbor, Michigan area, (and worked there all of my adult life until recently) I am not unfamiliar with the "melting pot" environment, and have appreciated the people that I have known, worked with, and befriended from all parts of the world. I do however, feel that if your job is in customer service, you should be able to communicate with customers.

My concern, however, lies more in the fact that the customer was not put first in the scenario. My husband was not able to provide the HO with the information that I was out of town, because he too, is gainfully employed, and was not home when the call came in. Thus, I was left with answering machine messages that neither he nor I could decipher.

After finding out what the problem was I am still unable to understand how it justifies putting an entire cooking show order shipment on hold. I want to know that my customers are going to receive the best, and most timely service possible.

Yes, I appreciated that they let me know the status of my order, and how my commission, etc., would be impacted--I now understand a few more things than I did prior to this. (I did mark the "consultant as host box" though) and I'm sure I still have a great deal to learn. I am confident that future interactions with the Home Office will go more smoothly--it was just very frustrating as this was my first real cooking show, people were eager to receive their products, and the delay reflected on me.

Anyway, I'm off to see what I can do to move forward with my new business, and am excited about the possibilities that lie ahead.

Thanks